Uncomfortable reading

I think the truth lies in your final paragraph, Nick: the establishment are evidently panicking.

The smears in today's press will pander to the diehard Labour/Tory supporters, whose votes were never up for grabs anyway. Young voters, first-time voters, voters swept along by the idea of reform are unlikely to be quite so easily manipulated.

The rather personal and somewhat negative attacks on Nick Clegg-from tory press principally are rather interesting to watch. Was it not George Osborne who said on the Politics show on Sunday that there will be no negative campaigning from the tories? So what's this then George? Can only presume that this is because George and his fellow tories appear to have got into a blue funk about the possibility of 1) A hung parliament and 2)The loss of an election which they obviously thought was in the bag long ago. Could be a dangerous game to play as the electorate have shown that they are willing to use Clegg and Lib Dems as a way of voicing anger at various issues. This attack on Clegg is so clearly aimed at undermining him ahead of tonight's debate that the public may respond in kind by backing him even more strongly. Whatever follows it has made it clear to the electorate that the Tories are very very rattled and will use fair means or foul to try and retrieve the situation.

Breaking News.... Nick Clegg lived in the same town as a seriously ill man & never visited him, though he knows he has a spare kidney.

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It would appear that the papers are bricking it, having seen that Clegg represents what a large part of the electorate must want, and realising that none of them are catering to it. The Mail especially, as it clearly wants Cameron (or preferably someone a bit to the right of him) to win.

So in tonight's debate we may finally get to hear what the would-be leaders think about world poverty and international development. I'm Oxfam's head of research and just blogged on the parties'policies and philosophies. If you want to know more before the debate, check out https://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=2360

Perfect opening line Nick.

Now.

Lets see whether they really ARE in it to clean up politics and break the duopoly with something new and different... or whether its just yet more of the same and deep down they're just as rotten as the other two.

I'm inclined to think the latter.

As someone said, "If we cannot win without throwing dirt, we'd better just give up."

To continue the analogy, the more we throw, the more ends up on our hands.

Gilligans piece in the Telegraph would hardly have been easy reading for him either. That is it Nick investigative journalism.......

It would be good if we had a similar level of diligence and investigation around Gordon Browns expenses, his only problem was he paid a living wage to a cleaner. Sorry he didn't pay the wage we did. What is he paid £198,000 for if not to look after his family. Yet we clean his flat, and pay his grocery bills. We also pay a mortgage on a house in Scotland, but isn't that the only property he owns? If it is then why/how does he qualify for second homes allowance? He does not have one and he lives rent free in Downing Street.

Britain was a country obsessed by the war with delusions of grandeur.

Are we now going to get the American phenomenon in which, every time a politician inadvertently tells the truth, there's a media outcry that forces him to retract?

I think if you Twitter #nickcleggsfault, as I type, the 2nd highest hashtag after World Earth Day, you'll get an idea of how `seriously' the public may be viewing allegations by the Tory Press, a.k.a. Desperados.

I have a LibDem MP and he has been tweeting that this is a turning point in British politics and agree but not quite for the same reasons.

Last weeks debate gave the LibDems an equal billing with Labour/Tories for the first time and the British public liked what it heard. To no ones surprise the right wing press have had a fit and turned both barrels on Clegg. My concern is that the mud-slinging will stick and the public buy all this negative campaigning as, if so, we truly will have gone down the US path and we'll see "Attack Ads" instead of actual debate about policies in future campaigns. We like to think we're British and above all that sort of thing but unfortunately we're human so respond to fear tactics as well. It will be interesting to see which prevails, positive messages (from any party) or fear-mongering.

This election will be a turning point in British politics, lets hope in the right direction.

PS Is any else wary of tonight's Murdoch hosted debate following Clegg's 'success' in the 1st one. If DC blows it again then Murdoch will have backed the loser in both UK and US elections and he can't be having that can he?

He put himself in the firing line what was he expecting?

Life's not fair...unlike his attempts to pretend he can make it so.

Taxi for Brown! (because he agrees with Nick)

It is of no surpirse to me whatsoever that the flip flopping popular rags such as the The Sun are on the attack. What does surprise me is that it's taken them almost a week to scrape the barrell in order to do so. On the morning of debate no.2 I'm sure the likes of Murdock are very pleased with themselves. Do they really assume that even those who exclusively take their political views with a dose of a 38D chest are moronic enough not to see this for exactly what it is? Should I despair at the thought that they might not?

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This blogger felt unable to support Nick Clegg or his Party, the Lib-Dems, because as Nick states - this is a man who is, after all, simply another politician who has claimed his fair share of expenses to the full and thus demonstrated that he could not surmount an (unintentional) ethical and moral test; that potential leaders simply must not fail.

Surely the people of England have had enough of these major party politicians and their heavily tarnished Parties?

If you can just step outside of the mainstream box, there are other political choices in England.

The best thing Nick Clegg has going for him is the fact that he's not Labour or Tory.

But as they say, the devil is in the details, and I'm sure this will certainly be the same in his case.

As a floating voter who's seriously considering a LibDem vote in order to unseat my local Labour candidate, however, the thing that concerns me the most about Clegg is his silence on the hung parliament issue. He needs to clarify this before the election. I know he won't want to, because the fact that he hasn't yet is another reason why he's still polling so well. As soon as he declares his intentions, however, I suspect that will fall.

My suspicion is that Clegg will keep his intentions to himself in order to maximise his party's performance in the election. I can accept that he feels he has a responsibility to his party members to do this. But for someone who's running for PM on the basis of electoral reform and fairness, his responsibility should be to the wider electorate, regardless of consequences. Otherwise he's just a hypocrite like the other two.

Perhaps Nick Clegg could explain why he felt a cake tin called a 'Drommar' worth £2.49 was something the taxpayer should subsidise?

Does this mean we all get a Drommar?

Does this mean Gordon Brown agrees with Nick and has a Drommar of his own?

Taxi for Brown!

Well, as these personal attacks would appear to be coming from Tory supporters, let see whether Clegg asks Cameron to disassociate himself from them and wants to concentrate on policy issues?

It does seem like a co-ordinated attack accross a sleuth of fronts. Starting with the worse case scenario Ken Clarke's reference to the IMF.

It would appear from Clarke's remarks that he is saying that the Tories would not be willing to work in the national interest accross party lines if the electorate decide on a hung Parliament.

I must admit that both the Mail and the Telegraph can be very anti-Tory in their comments.

Let's follow party thinking. Who gains most from a Lib-Dem Failure?

The Tories? Their strategy is to fragment the left of centre vote - persuade Labour voters not to support the party and so win more of the LAB-CON marginals. Do they gain by Lib Dems reverting back to Labour?

Labour? They need votes to avoid losing the LAB-CON marginals (and are worried in about 40 LAB-LIB marginals). DO they gain by Lib-Dems reverting back to Labour?

Is it likely that many voters will go LAB --> LIB DEM ----> CON?

So long as Brown goes I can vote for Nick Clegg and Lib Dems? Anyone in fact? No just conjecture!

However, some of Lib Dems policies are quite bizarre - almost certain early entry to the Euro under a Lib Dem influenced government/new government when Brown having unwittingly kept clear of it has saved OR HAS DELAYED the UK from having near certain economic bankcruptcy and other unmentionable disasters?

Closer EU union under Lib Dems?

Take in more and more immigrants with 8.something million UK adults officially inactive?

Giving up Trident when Brown's government has been bombing around the world?

Really having second thoughts about this Lib Dem thing now?

Hey Davey Cameron - what happened to the idea of giving the electorate a real referendum on the EU or something related to it when you were 20 points in the lead?

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You can really smell the fear from the Tory's and their newspaper co-horts can't you? Thats right boys... be afraid... because its been a long time coming in the British political set up, but change is going to come.

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I agree with clacker.

The truth lies in your final paragraph. Enough said.

Smacks of desperation - it's a basic rule of politics that if you cannot think of a counter-argument to someone's proposal, you attack him instead.

Except with the current bunch of mediocre candidates, they don't even try to think of counter-arguments, they just attack other people's ideas and them themselves. Pathetic. And, as far as I am concerned, a vote-loser.

Anyone wanting my vote needs to tell me what they are going to do if elected. I'm not interested in what they think of anyone else's policies, I can decide that for myself.

Your final paragraph makes Clegg out to be some kind of anti-establishment figure outside the Westminster world when nothing could be further from the truth.

One person's 'smear' is another person's 'scrutiny'. Clegg put himself on the pedestal . Now he's being knocked off. So he's no-one to blame but himself.

The public has been sucked in by the Cleggmania spin and media hype.

Isn't the sunlight of scrutiny now shining on Clegg exactly the same relentless attacks on personality and policy both Cameron and Brown have had to face week after week after week?

https://theorangepartyblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/clegg-attack.html

At 11:53am on 22 Apr 2010, clacker wrote:
I think the truth lies in your final paragraph, Nick: the establishment are evidently panicking.

The smears in today's press will pander to the diehard Labour/Tory supporters, whose votes were never up for grabs anyway. Young voters, first-time voters, voters swept along by the idea of reform are unlikely to be quite so easily manipulated.

An alternative view is that Clegg has very successfully (so far) manipulated the disaffected. The 'X factor' generation needs to examine exactly what the LibDems would do given power or the balance of power.

The Country is in too big a mess to have a Government elected on whimsical grounds.

Interestingly, since yesterday the cost of borrowing on the £168 bn shortfall has risen by £23 million.

That my friends is the true cost of doing nothing about our national finances.

Anybody care to argue?

I find all of the #nickcleggsfault tweets hilarious today, for example "Nick Clegg lived in the same town as a seriously ill man and never visted him, though he knows he has a spare kidney #nickcleggsfault" (Armando Iannucci).

It would appear that the anti-Clegg barrage in the nations press isn't being translated into anti-Clegg sentiment in the population. Perhaps we should have a new hashtag ... #thebritishpubliccanseethroughsmearstories

#12 BillyAthletic wrote
"PS Is any else wary of tonight's Murdoch hosted debate following Clegg's 'success' in the 1st one. If DC blows it again then Murdoch will have backed the loser in both UK and US elections and he can't be having that can he?"

Do I spy a conspiracy theory in the making?

I will be very interested to learn how Clegg can justify wanting to be in the Euro until just after it became a very bad idea indeed when the credit crunch struck, and why it will be a very good idea soon if we the public decide it is. Will he admit he was wrong?

Indeed, for all of them, why is it a good idea to tax the banks in case they ever need bailing out again if they are all going to legislate to make sure it never happens again? Are they all going to write very bad legislation? Also, there is surely no need to impose the additional taxes on the banks if it's safe to go in to the Euro is there? I'm no fan of the banks' behaviour, but you can't have both ways. Either tax them and leave the regulation alone, or regualte properly - both are not neccessary unless you just want to tax something it's popular to tax. As for splitting up the banks into high street stuff and investment banking stuff, that's all very well as long as people are prepared to start paying fees for their bank accounts as currently happens everywhere but here. Will any of the parties kindly explain what they expect to happen here if it's not going to be charges for banking?

Lib Dems = Labour with a different badge.

Plans to tax the hell out of everyone; no wish to get a grip on public spending; weak on crime; defence etc.

Vote Clegg and you are simply getting a younger looking version of Gordon Brown.

This is a right-wing establishment consipracy which ranks alongside the Zinoviev forgery. Carry on the insurgency - do not let the vested interests win!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinoviev_letter

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Well, you know what they say, Nick.

The truth can sometimes hurt.

The Telegraph exposed this expenses/financial arrangement scandal and went after everyone equally. I don't think this can be called partisan.

By the way - where did all the interest on these payments go?

Perhaps BBC political editor Nick Robinson should investigate that a noisy and unoffensive person holding a LibDem poster was approached and hassled by David Cameron's bodyguards during a Cameron visit filmed by BBC from the Cameron doorway of the Tory battle-bus?

This person should not have been approached by David Camerons' bodyguards - FULL STOP!

Big boys games, big boys rules.

The bed-wetters who are describing these stories as "smears" are missing the point. With the exception of the expense story in the Telegraph which is innuendo, the rest are simple statements of fact. These facts may be damaging for Clegg and the Lib-Dems, but that does not make them smears.

The hysterical reponse from Clegg's cheerleaders to any scrutiny of him and his policies is frightening.

Clegg's unpatriotic comments reported in the Mail today may be 8 years old but they are true.

The Lib-Dems have received £2.5m of money from a convicted criminal and have not repaid it. This is far worse than being funded by the unions or Ashcroft.

Clegg's background in the European Commission and as a political lobbyist
contradict his claim to be different from other leaders, his background is very much that of a political insider. Chris Huhne refused to discuss this with John Humphreys on R4 this morning.

Talk about desperate! 250 squid is hardly in the same league as the other party's is it? The more they go after him especially the media the more I will promise to vote for him.....Go Clegg!

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17. At 12:19pm on 22 Apr 2010, djlazarus wrote:
The best thing Nick Clegg has going for him is the fact that he's not Labour or Tory.

Surely it is the only thing.....

We're all missing the real election story, how George Osborne has gone retro and morphed into the Beano's Lord Snooty.....retro chic

5. At 11:57am on 22 Apr 2010, Ingvild wrote:
It would appear that the papers are bricking it, having seen that Clegg represents what a large part of the electorate must want, and realising that none of them are catering to it. The Mail especially, as it clearly wants Cameron (or preferably someone a bit to the right of him) to win.

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Perhapys Tony Blair. For example.

Of if you actually do believe Camerson is right wing, perhaps you need to study a bit before you post again.

My personal feelings on this is that if you are going to build your case on being "Mr Clean" you really need to be able to stand on this platform.

Clegg has been making political capital about how bad the Labour and Conservatives have been when it comes to expense claims and dodgy financial dealings, so he can't really call foul when HIS expenses are looked into in more detail.

The Labour party have been attacking the Tories because of the background of Cameron, so it seems only fair to bring attention to the fact that Clegg has had much the same background.

The problem is that because the third party have been mostly ignored in the media for so long these stories never really came up. These types of stories have circulated about Brown and Cameron for years but Clegg managed to avoid them.

However, because we are so close to the election these stories might actually help the Lib Dems as what otherwise would be normal political stories now look like a targetted attack.

Nick Robinson, senior political correspondent for the BBC is, in his blog, simply full of links to negative newspaper reports?

Does Mr Robinson have no original thought and unable to critique all of the swirl and whirl of his access to the land of politics he is paid to examine, dissect and impartially report?

Awful smearing Tory press. In the gutter.

Murdoch is the chancer when it comes to business,he may not be a British citizen but his comics and trolls(employees) do not wave the flag for the once Great Britain only his wallets. I cannot read his papers,wellthey are not there to be read and the otherpapers belong to tory backers ,Cegg should sue

I've said before, I'll say again. I for one find the whole smear attempt at Clegg to be pretty grubby, something I'd rather not see in our politics. But all that is happening here is he is suddenly getting a catch up for what the other two parties have already had. He has put himself in the front line, and is thus suddenly subject to extra scrutiny, with a hefty "catch up" charge to be made. But he is getting no more attention than anyone else has had, his is just a bit more belated.

Mud flinging is now a normal part of political life in the UK, to avoid being argumentative I will not go into detail about who I believe most culpable. Suffice to say, everyone does it, getting outraged at the one side but not the other is more than a little hypocritical.

And do try to remember. Although it may be right leaning, the Telegraph is an independent body and has no official affiliation. Therefore saying "nasty Tories" when the Telegraph publishes a slightly distasteful article is very wide of the mark.

I knew the word would be out to go for him, but I did think it might be handled in a little less ham-fisted a fashion than this. Bet the phones were ringing last night in Murdoch editor offices. The coordinated effort, though, is SO absurdly orchestrated by the Conservative-loving press as to be embarassingly inept. No doubt this is round one, and we've more to come. My prediction? Tomorrow:

Telegraph will lead with 'Top Generals slam Lib Dem defence policy' [based on a secondhand account of a private closed meeting of long long retired Conservative-supporting military men in 2008...]

Mail leads on 'Clegg once refused to eat good old fish and chips' [...because he didn't like them, shock horror...]

Sun leads on 'Clegg-y blonde in Nick's past' [which will turn out to be his Mum]

None of the stories will be accurate, up to date or even relevant, but what can you do? When the forces of Labservativism are watching their poll ratings slip so decisively, this is the press you get...or rather the press you've had for the past few decades.

he suggested that Britain was a country obsessed by the war with delusions of grandeur.

It's very difficult to argue with him on that.

I am amazed at the number of posters here who are crying "Foul". Didn't they expect this? Isn't it part of the big knockabout that is a genral election?

Focus on the issues, not the personalities. Neither Labour nor the Lib Dems are credible on the important issue, which is the economy. Don't ever lose sight of that.

I don't have much money, but I would like to have more of it, and I don't see any prospect of that if the wide boys in Labour get back in, with or without active Lib Dem support.

BTW, there are 14 days still to go, and in that time last years record amount of borrowing by the Government, courtesy of Brown and Darling, will have risen by £322 million. Staggering isn't it? How can anybody in their right mind consider voting in favour of the biggest financial roasting they are ever going to get?

Wake up peoples.

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Bitter coffee and stale croissants dosn't come close. Never mind poor old NC it's me that feels devasted this morning. Having just read the Daily Mail (not known for it's right wing tendancies) I'm left absolutely cold. Never again am I going to to fall for a one night stand with the Lib/Dems. I was told it would all end in tears and it sure has. No back home to the Torries for me and a very long chat with Mrs N to say how sorry I am ever to have strayed away.

Only hope they will have me back. What a fool I am for listening to my so called mate Sagamix.

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It is not clear whether the king will accept Mr Leterme's resignation.

That seems to be what is happening in Belgium, following the dissolution of the ruling coalition.

Wonder how long before those headlines are repeated here?

Got an email from my Conservative candidate this morning (I know!) saying that "the Lib Dems can't win" the seat, so the only way to unseat the sitting Labour MP is a vote for this character. It's a 3 way marginal and the Lib Dems are odds on FAVOURITES at the bookies to take it. So he was lying to me, wasn't he? Dirty Tories.

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I see the treacle mine has transplanted itself into the moderators office again.

Er, guys... although it may well go down well in the student union bars, or with the trade union comrades on the picket lines.... you cant blame EVERYTHING on Rupert Murdoch. Those of you who can spell his name anyway.

Your man, whoever he is, Cameron, Brown or Clegg has faults.

His party has faults.

They claim to be something they may not be and they will all promise you blood, sweat, tears and a non-means-tested passage to the promised land.

All three and their ministers or ministers in waiting have made mistakes or said or done things that they should regret.

Instead of blaming it on the press (who only write this crap because you cant stop buying their newspapers to make you feel good about your own political agenda or to read up on what your fave sleb has been upto recently), just accept that it happened, let the candidates explain their positions and justify these old comments, if necessary, or explain their actions or lack of and make your own minds up.

If they didnt do what they are accused of doing, if they didnt say what they were accused of saying, there wouldnt be anything for the press to write about them. YOU have to decide YOURSELVES as to whether each of these leaders has a case to answer regarding accusations laid at their feet.

Just quit whining about bloody Murdoch about it and stop making excuses for them. Its feeble.

BTW, for those of you arguing the relative merits of coalitions, the Belgian case has been going on for years. In fact during 2008 they didn't have a government as such because the various parties couldn't agree.

I look forward to similar problems arising here. No, not really, only joking, I hope. On the other hand, if we hadn't had a government in 2008 we wouldn't be in the fine mess we are in now. Maybe there is something to be said for it.

Anyone got a TARDIS handy?

Just another chapter in this ridiculous mud-slinging soap but thankful for a bit of S & V, what with talk of "going for the jugular".

The amount of wittering going on - the one o'clock news - about what this trio of demi-stars should be going for tonight, what vein they might go for next, what each should be challenging the others with, what's the up-to-the-minute scandal and will it taint their rosettes; what should they have had for breakfast...Uhhhhhhhhh

One reason to vote for the Icelandic-Volcano-Preservation Party is that it attenuated much of the political dross on the airwaves for almost a week.

Honestly, the extractor fan is running flat out trying to suck all the vacuous verbiage from my room. I dare say it'll end up being recycled by the same presenters.

On with the show.....

So the Tories feel threatened their plans thrown into turmoil as they've found that there are more people than they thought that dare to disagree with them and would prefer to vote for something different. So what do they do? Call in their shock troops of course (how predictable) the bullying right-wing press with their lackey editors. Is this going to be a foretaste of what the Tories will be like if they win on May 6th? Will they unleash the press on anyone that dares to question them and will any newspaper that doesn't agree with them end up like the Independent did today with a visit from a Murdoch? What has happened to all this empowerment they are promising?

If you havent tried it yet, please type this into twitter.
It going crazy out there!

https://twitter.com/search?q=nickcleggsfault

Why not add one,
I did.

It is interesting to see the "Change" claiming Conservative party / press going on the attack in an unjustified and unjustifiable personal attack on Nick Clegg.

This attempt to smear a reasonable politician who has made no secret of his upbringing or past, who answers questions on his behaviour honestly and straight forwardly, shows up the minions of the establishment.

One can understand Rupert Murdoch's actions, after all he thinks he controls the world. He doesn't, in fact his actions only show him, his media outlets and the "old establishment" in the worse possible light. In fact please Mr Murdoch continue your actions... You will send more and more of the British electorate into the "anyone except the Tories and Labour" camp and with luck destroy completely the old politics of the British Parliment.

Is Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats prefect? No and they do not appear to be claiming to be. Do I agree with all of thier policies definately not.

Do I want the Tories or Labour to get a clear majority on May 6th an emphatic NO!! If we do we will get another 5 years of autocratic we know best government with the excesses of which ever party to the fore as soon as they think they can get away with it...

Of course the press are going to start raking over his past. There is nothing I've seen that is in any way offensive or particularly personal. It is certainly no worse than the constant comments regarding the Bullingdon Club. The press do this to everyone who suddenly becomes of interest from Susan Boyle to MPs if he wants to be PM he's going to get a lot worse.
His comments on the War are probably misreported by the Mail and were made long before he seriously thought he might have a realistic chance of being PM but still are slightly curious.
On the expenses/donations - he's been quick enough to criticise others - he who lives by the sword die by the sword.
Of the 3 parties the Libdems have been the least committed to both Iraq and Afghanistan (some would say this is a positive) but if he is going to be in government he is going to have to deal with the realities of the situation and it will be no good saying I wouldn't have got us into the mess! This could be taken as wobbly on the War.
Nick Clegg has gone from zero to hero based on a 90 minute TV debate which has by definition relied on his personality it shouldn't come as any surprise that his background and policies are now under scrutiny. My feeling is he does expect it and isn't particularly worried.
Tonight will be interesting how will he stand up to Brown and Cameron who on Foreign policy will be similar. Trident, Iraq and Afghanistan will polarise people, whether it will convince more people to vote Libdem or put some second thoughts in the minds of those who were won over last week could clinch the election. Next week on the economy will be more predictable - Cameron will blame Brown whilst trying to ask questions of Clegg and avoid them back, Brown will mention IHT at every opportunity and Nick Clegg will try and sound like the voice of reason whilst wishing Vince Cable was there (although under pressure yesterday - there were cracks here) although at the end of day, we're going to pay more tax and see cuts in public spending whoever wins and none of them really no, how much, how far and when because it depends on factors outside their control.

Seems Ed Balls has been upsetting the locals in his "new" parachuted constituency....

Apple never falls far from the tree does it?

https://order-order.com/2010/04/22/balls-upsets-the-townsfolk/

Winifred 122 "Concentrate on the real issues"...
The real issue is that, under the current electoral system, 75% of voters - those who don't live in a marginal - don't have a vote worth casting. Further, 30% of the vote means very different things to the three main parties. 100LD, 200C, 300L has been quoted. The priority must be to address this systemic corruption.
This election has a party prepared to make real electoral reform, not a tiny tweak like AV. Regardless of anything else, this is an opportunity for the majority of this country to reclaim its vote. I for one am prepared to accept imperfection in other areas to address our derelict democracy.

Power is never willingly given up. Both other parties will attack as any shift in the current ruling cabal is viewed as bad. The comfortable arrangments with banking and big business would be disturbed by another player at the table and the dirty deals and secrets may be exposed. It has been interesting in that we all want saints as elected officials yet elect scoundrels. The real fear is not that a new player may join the game, the fear is that the new player may not want to play by the rules of the game.

What gets me about this hung parliament stuff is why the Libdems need side with either of Lab and Tory except on individual issues. They could go their own way and vote with their conscience, surely?

And, by the way, that's something I'd insist on during any political reform: scrap the whips and let MPs vote according to their conscience; along with a lot more direct democracy.

#18 rockRobin7
Dail Mail headline 05/04/2008:
'David Cameron's mortgage costs taxpayers £21,000 a year, it was revealed yesterday.'

Omelette for Cameron!

Mr Clegg is putting himself and his MP's forward as 'expenses clean'.

They may not have flipped second homes to diddle the taxman but some of them did take cash and then agreed an increase in rent for their flats - which higher rent they charged on expenses.

Seems very similar to me!

Maybe it will be less of a surprise to some more than others but voter turnout is expected to be up this year with an overwhelming amount of the new votes going to LD and ''Other'' parties.
This could well be the deciding balancing factor in shaping a hung Parliament.

The two ''main'' parties are beginning to realise this and are calling up their Establishment friends, but it's too late to fling ''specks of mud''.

NC needs to play his trump card(pro-Europe and the time is right to strengthen ties with Europe,including joining the Euro(pound at/near historical lows)) tonight to see off Brown and Cameroon.

[Nod to Peter (Lord)Mandelson]

The Liberals will continue the attack on workers just as Labour & the Tories.

The wage cuts, job cuts, pension cuts, public service cuts will still happen.

One solution, revolution!

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Mr Robinson, Senior Political Editor for the BBC? Your views on your blog are new for our family. We have only seen and listened to you on BBC TV so far, but as the election looms we have looked at all official political blogs including yours.

We, as a family, are disappointed at the stark difference between what you say on screen and your blog? Naturally, as a senior BBC journalist, the public expect an unbiased professional critique, completely independent and free of partisan newspapers?

We, as a family, appreciate and fully respect that you, Mr Robinson, are not influenced by any interests other than open and fair reporting on all politics and politicians in the public interest on our behalf. Well done as you continue with your impartial view.

24. At 12:31pm on 22 Apr 2010, Paul M wrote:

The Conservative Party is bankrolled from secretive, anonymous offshore registries in Belize

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No it isn't

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the tax haven controlled by their deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft

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No it isn't.
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the same ideals of the Conservative Party in terms of privatising the BBC and running down Ofcom.

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These are not stated ideals of either party.

"If you've made three factually incorrect statements in one barmy post, why not round it off with a vote for the lib dems."

Could be a catchy new slogan.

Starting to see a 21st Century anology here.
The UK public doesn't like Brown or Cameron. They want an Obama and by golly they will create an Obama if they have to.

Getting the feeling that Brown and Cameron are like McCain and Palin (who were essentially just as comparably separate as political entities). They appeal *only* to the already converted.

Meanwhile the convertible portion of the electorate, the ones that really matter and animate the swing-o-meters, have given up on them and will go for what the right wing press a.k.a. Main Stream Media calls the `shallow' `no depth' community organizer/lobbyist who is a `muslim' or atheist with `international'/European leanings.
Who may not turn out so bad after all.

Looking forward to this election now.

What Nick Robinson blatantly overlooks and fails to comment on is the quite obvious scaremongering by the Tories and their press pals who are running scared, and it is not an `establishment` thing as Robinson attempts to portray it.Moreover,one questions Robinson`s motivation and performance on last night`s news bulletin,could it be anything to do with his former involvement with the Tory party ?!
Because Clegg and the Lib Dems are now seen as a threat,surprise surprise all the Tory press,particulary the obscenely biased Daily Mail will do anything to get `Desperate Dave` into power. Maybe Nick Robinson and any other so called decent journalists should spend a bit of time putting the focus on David Cameron`s `change`agenda, i.e.change my tatics,change my attack,change my policies,change my TV broadcast, change my mind time and again !
It is clear to anyone that David Cameron will say or do anything to get into power,when will our media decide to seriously expose this ?!

27. At 12:35pm on 22 Apr 2010, Megan wrote:
Smacks of desperation - it's a basic rule of politics that if you cannot think of a counter-argument to someone's proposal, you attack him instead.

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Christ, for the last time.

It is independent bodies without official affiliation attacking the Lib Dems. Is it grubby? Yes. Is it unworthy? Of course.

Is it the Tory party doing it? Emphatically not.

Breaking News

Belgium coalition government in chaos! Over to our man at the scene of the crime Gerry mandering.

Today's papers are just another hysterically screaming example of how thoroughly rotten & reactionary tabloid journalism has become in this country. Mein Daily Kampf predictably leads the charge with hateful gusto.
I suppose he had his share of good press last week, perhaps he may have poked his level head above the parapet too soon and signalled to the Mail and the rest of the Waffen-SS bully boys that they would do well to put the boot in right now.
Still, this kind of ugly nonsense has no place in a meaningful debate in this country. The day the tabloid press vanish into the online ether forever will be a joyful & glorious one.

The Lib Dems aren't different to the 'big two'. They are firmly part of the establishment. The party has been around for yonks; its members were involved in the expenses scandal; it accepts dodgy donations; it engages in the politics of the smear; and it is desperate for power, so as to serve its own ends. Some 'change' being offered...

Admittedly, there are areas of substantive difference, on policy. Lib Dems don't want to renew Trident; they didn't want to go into Iraq (note the past tense on that one: it's nothing new); they want us to enter the Euro; they want to radically alter the tax system (nice idea, undeniably, but they can't pay for it); and they want to scrap tuition fees (again, I'm in favour in principle, but they can't afford it, at least not with the ludicrously inflated number of undergraduates we have).

But to the extent that the above policies represent 'something different', give me the status quo anyday. Or, at any rate, the current state of affairs (policy promises commonly understood to be dishonest) is preferable to this pseudo-alternative (unrealistic and/or undesirable policy promises which people have thus far been gullible enough to swallow).

I just heard Manedlspin on Radio 4 criticising the way poor Nick is being treated!

What a laugh!

Knowing Labour is in third place, he knows their only hope is that the Lib Dems will agree to join them in a coalition. Naturally, therefore, he wants the Lib Dems to do better than the Tories.

God, even the libdems have got their own trolls now....

Some of the comments on here are also appearing word for word on other forums, such as those of the mail and the telegraph, all around the same time span. Curious that.

So much for cleaning up politics! So much for being whiter than white! So much for being different to the other two!

You're just the damned same. The last time we had a sleazy incumbent government who had gone stale, the public voted for a party who'se leader at the time said that not only should they be whiter than white but also be seen to be whiter than white.... and what did we get? TWELVE YEARS OF THE MOST SLEAZY, CORRUPT, SELF-SERVING LIARS AND THEIVES EVER TO ENTER PUBLIC LIFE!!

Do you not think that the sheeple's memories, goldfish-like that they can be at times, might not remember those words from 12 years ago and be somewhat suspicious of this former MEP/Lobbyist who claims to be untarnished by the antics of the other two main parties?

Clegg and his party are facing the same kind of scrutiny that the other main players are getting. Get used to it for christs sake and stop bleating!

the ultimate answer is 42.

24. Paul M

'The Lib Dems advocate closing tax loopholes and cracking down on offshore tax avoidance.'

They can't do it. There is no administration I can think of that has been in favour of tax avoidance. Governments want the highest tax yield possible and HMRC works relentlessly to close loopholes. But there is no foolproof tax system. Someone will always find a way to manipulate the system. That doesn't mean we should cease trying to prevent avoidance, but the Lib Dems are spinning a pernicious lie in claiming that they can raise substantial funds by this route.

Scrutiny, scrutiny, and more scrutiny. Let's have some proper politics. The Lib Dems should be welcomed to the fierce arena of genuine political debate. In the interests of democracy, no party should be exempt.

"APbbforum wrote:
This is a right-wing establishment consipracy which ranks alongside the Zinoviev forgery. Carry on the insurgency - do not let the vested interests win!"

Wow, that is serious paranoia - the main reason that these issues are coming up now is that a week ago many voters wouldn't have had a clue who Nick Clegg was. Now Nick Clegg is supposed to be the British Obama the media are releasing all the little stories that would have broken long ago if they were about Brown or Cameron.

I find it funny that Labour supporting media have gone from belittling the libdems to agreeing with them (albeit with caveats) its like coyly shuffling up to your wife while you are feeling frisky, nudging her, then hurriedly shuffling away again. Just a tease really.

The Labour party knows damned well that they won't win a majority. They are desperately trying to cosy up to Clegg to form a minority govt. which will be at its own throats within 3 weeks of the election. I am too young to remember the last hung/balanced/biparty/ineffectual* [*delete as appropriate] but I have seen lots of horror films. They don't end well for the innocent victims.

It will be interesting to see Clegg's foreign policy performance tonight!

35. At 12:45pm on 22 Apr 2010, APbbforum wrote:
This is a right-wing establishment consipracy which ranks alongside the Zinoviev forgery. Carry on the insurgency - do not let the vested interests win!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinoviev_letter

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I really dislike internet accronmyms, but there's really only one reaction to this.

Rofl.

You strike me as the sort of person who would see a single snowflake and declare it a blizzard.

5. Ingvild

'It would appear that the papers are bricking it, having seen that Clegg represents what a large part of the electorate must want, and realising that none of them are catering to it. The Mail especially, as it clearly wants Cameron (or preferably someone a bit to the right of him) to win.'

I neither know nor care what the Daily Mail wants. Its pages are usually filled with bilge. If, however, you've ever had the misfortune of reading anything by the virulent ex-Trotskyite Peter Hitchens, you will be aware that Cameron is not flavour of the month in (at least some sections of) that paper. In fact, I think some of its writers, and probably a good number of its readers, think Cameron worse than the other two, as he must be some sort of traitor because he does not relentlessly pursue some authoritarian agenda. If you want good logical analysis, the Daily Mail is the paper to avoid (only just behind The Guardian...)

Hoo hoo! Tonight's debate should be entertaining. Will Dave and Gordon turn their big guns on Cleggy and blow him out of the water, or will their wooden-hulled old ships fall apart with the recoil from their own guns. What ever happens the fallout will be raining down for days.

PS Do you like my metaphor?

Greensleeves are you a Daily Mail/Telegraph/Murdoch hack in weak disguise? Your first post was indeed incredibly arrogant and I presumed a wind up. So you are upset at the younger generation getting involved in the democratic process as they cannot use their vote wisely-ie refuse to vote Tory? Well since it is the older generation and the electorally wise who have got us into this mess and now will lumber the younger generation with a monumental debt burden for the whole of their natural I think they have every right to show Lab and Cons the order of the boot. No doubt Cameron's hug a hoodie campaign and his community service ideas are to your liking. Thankfully such old fashioned anachronistic views should get given short shrift at the ballot box. And no I am not a gap student drug ridden lib dem supporter-how many stereotypes could you think of. I belong to the baby boom generation that remembers the savage brutality of Thatcherism all too well and the economic wastelands that were created. Never again!

#36 Greensleeves
'There is something too European about Clegg for my liking. Even his sons don't have English names.'
They're called Antonio, Alberto and Miguel, that is, a Roman name, a German name and a Biblical name. If only he'd given them good English names like Tony, Bert and Mike!!!

Not only is what Nick Clegg said in 2002 true, but the Daily Mail inadvertently reinforces that fact when this story shares space on that horrific rag's front cover today with a promotion for a World War II DVD giveaway.

Whatever happens, this whole election is turning into an entirely squalid and fairly despicable affair. I find myself quite disgusted with the lot of them. Lib Dems have kept their dignity the best so far, but its the best of a poor bunch.

It is an election of smears, personal attacks, cheap pejorative sniping led by some thoroughly nasty pieces of work. They are all so determined to dig up dirt on one another, and come up with that perfect line of attack or put down, that they are excluding just about everything else. To some extent of course, it is the job of the opposition and Lib Dems to expose the flaws in the current incumbents, but the counterattacks and the countercounterattacks are doing nothing but appealing to the lowest instincts of the electorate. You can see it on these boards. The entrenched Tories attacking Clegg, the left wing coalition making accusations of desperation and smearing.

Its just risible. You really all ought to be ashamed of yourselves, from the PM to The Sun down to the lowliest Saga. Sorry, blogger.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

42#

Just as well we know you mate. Cleggy being the UK's answer to Obama, indeed....

{chortle}

In the past we've seen that a party that appears to be advocating a higher standard of sexual morality is vulnerable to having every misdemeanour relentlessly exposed.

Similarly, a party that claims to be more honest than the others is open to having every detail of dishonesty exposed in the press.

That's why Vince Cable struggled in the Chancellor's debate yesterday. He claimed to have presented an honest manifesto whereas, in terms of explaining how to reduce the budget deficit, it was a vague as the other two.